Marine Safety Chief Kevin Snow at the Laguna Beach Maring Safety building on Main Beach. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Laguna Beach's new lifeguard headquarters, more than a decade in the making, could be the "greenest" on the county's coastline when it's finished.

The project, estimated at about $6 million, will double the facility from its cramped 1,350 square-foot space to about 2,200 square feet with an additional 800 square feet for public restrooms. It replaces the building built in the mid-1980s by volunteers.

Made entirely of glass and concrete, the building will meet LEED Silver standards with a succulent rooftop, solar thermal and solar electric panels, skylights, bamboo cabinetry and LED lighting. The city isn't seeking LEED certification, a rating system for high-performing green structures, due to the cost. A point system would determine if the building ranked certified, silver, gold or platinum.

The project broke ground in September 2012 and aims to be completed in December.

Besides its environmental aspects, the headquarters' new amenities and space will allow marine safety personnel to do their job more efficiently, according to Marine Safety Chief Kevin Snow.

NEW FEATURES

With the new headquarters, the public can enter a small lobby and directly communicate with lifeguards. A dispatch center will function as a command post for 30 lifeguard towers, five patrol units, marine protection, tide pool educators and the Junior Lifeguard Program.

The facility will have a training/briefing room for trainings and daily meetings – something they never had. Marine Safety trains about 100 lifeguards each April. They also do developmental training, emergency medical training, compliance training and tide pool educator training among others.

With separate locker rooms and restrooms, lifeguards will no longer struggle with only one for both genders, previously using a unisex restroom to change or shower.

In the past, lifeguards had to treat sting ray patients out on the beach. A first-aid room will allow patients to have their wounds attended indoors, where hot water needed for the treatment is available. There will also be outdoor seating for patients.

The building includes public restrooms, five stalls for each gender. Demolishing the original public restrooms will allow the city to restore the bluff top, improving visibility for the building and opening up the entrance to Heisler Park.

LIFEGUARDS' RESPONSE

Lifeguard chiefs at neighboring coastal cities applauded the upgrades, citing the importance of the space for marine safety to get things done.

"I think it's fantastic that they're going green and producing a building that's environmentally friendly and using less resources. I think that's the future for all buildings," San Clemente Marine Safety Chief Bill Humphries said. "I think they had more needs than their headquarters could accomplish for many, many years."

He noted the locker rooms for both genders. Back in the '60s, when San Clemente's headquarters was built, lifeguards were predominately men. With more and more women entering the profession, he said it's important that headquarters are updated with the times. San Clemente added women's facilities in the mid-90s.

Todd Lewis, superintendent at Crystal Cove State Park, oversees the lifeguarding at the neighboring state beach. The park opened its new headquarters in 2011.

He called the green aspects a fabulous idea. The new headquarters will allow the lifeguards to fully execute all their services more efficiently, he said.

"Lifeguards do a very important and very broad job," he said. "They're responsible for water safety, beach safety, education – informing people about the beach and ecosystems they're encountering. They need a facility that will facilitate all the storage, training – the needs associated with such a large and important program."

Huntington Beach built a new headquarters about eight years ago, which included female facilities, a first aid treatment area, a classroom and a gym. The changes have improved the quality of their services, Marine Safety Chief Kyle Lindo said.

Lindo doesn't doubt that modernizing aging facilities, many worn from its beach environment, will improve the level of services for lifeguards.

Newport Beach Chief Lifeguard Rob Williams pointed out the importance of making space for essential services.

"We never had a training room and I understand they didn't either," he said. "That's absolutely necessary in this day and age to continue to train and prepare for disasters. In the public safety world, our job is majority prevention versus response. To do that, we need to have the right facilities and technologies."

He applauded the project. Newport Beach is planning a remodel of their headquarters and is watching Laguna's efforts, he said.

"I think it's well overdue and it will be more efficient for their operations," he said. "I envy them in a sense."

DOING IT BETTER

Snow has been with Laguna Beach since 1981. He remembers the creation of the prior building, which was built by lifeguards and community volunteers. He hauled dirt to the site and one time drove donated cans to a recycling center, which served as funding for the building.

Although the site hits a sentimental spot for Snow and others who chipped in at the time, the new headquarters will allow lifeguards to carry out their services with added ease.

"Of course we're really looking forward to getting this facility done. We've been working on it for 11 years, 12, almost 13 years," he said. "We're going from a building that was more or less outdated in the '80s, to a building that's designed to be a lifeguard headquarters."

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